Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Long before Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced her government’s intention to submit a bitumen pipeline proposal to the federal government’s new Major Projects Office, the battle lines had already been drawn. Through the summer and fall of 2025, the federal government’s consultations on Bill C-5—the part known as the Building Canada Act—triggered a flood of communiqués from environmental groups and First Nations organizations across the country. Their message was remarkably consistent. The new “nation-building” framework, meant to fast-track major infrastructure, risked becoming a backdoor for oil and gas expansion, according to documents filed in Canada’s national lobby registry. The records, which The Hub has analyzed alongside the various organizations’ own press releases and emails, as well as interviews, offer an early preview of the intense opposition any future Alberta pipeline will face. It’s also a reminder that resistance to such projects is increasingly preemptive rathe...

As he announces his refusal to sign on to the pipeline accord recently reached by Premiers Ford, Smith and Moe, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew appears to be wearing two hats. First, he wears his premier’s hat. He knows that any pipeline project must pass through Manitoba, and he is refusing to let it pass unless his terms are accepted. Here’s what he said: “Our government will not treat consultation as a box to check after decisions are made,” said Kinew on Wednesday. “We believe reconciliation requires shared decision-making from the start.” But the second hat Kinew appears to don is the feathered headdress of an Indian chief ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

For too long, the working people of B.C. resource towns haven’t had a real voice in the political decisions directly effecting their lives, and livelihoods – about pipeline projects, new mines, forestry tenures. That’s not only a tragedy for communities in British Columbia, it’s a travesty for resource development across Canada. Last spring, we launched Suits and Boots to change that. Founded by six people in April, we have since grown to more than 3,200 people across Canada; Suits who are in offices ... and Boots who are out in the field alike doing the important work that makes Canada such a prosperous nation. We have held rallies and flown banners over Parliament. We have written Senators asking them to kill the current version of Bill C-69 and send back to the House of Commons so this flawed attempt at re-working Canada’s environmental assessment regulations can be re-done.